Tension rises in Istanbul’s Taksim on Republic Day

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

As the 90th anniversary of the founding of Turkish Republic was being celebrated across Turkey, the police intervened in a group of people who attempted to march from tunnel to Taksim Square in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district.

Members of the Turkish Youth Union (TGB) and the Workers’ Party (İP) gathered in Tünel to march to Taksim Square. The police told the group to disperse and detained two people after the group refused to disperse, Doğan News Agency reported.

The group chanted slogans including “We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal,” referring to Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. The police used tear gas to disperse those gathered.

The police took broad security measures in Taksim and blocked entry to İstiklal Avenue with water cannon trucks (TOMA). Some protesters put Turkish flags on the TOMAs.

Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Mahmut Tanal told the police to open the way for the group in Tünel.